Result: Japan 34-17 Italy
Japan 34 – Tries: Amanaki Mafi, Kenki Fukuoka, Lomano Lemeki and Kotaro Matsushima; Conversions: Yu Tamura 4; Penalties: Yu Tamura 2 d.
Italy 17 – Tries: Tiziano Pasquali and Abraham Steyn; Conversions: Tommaso Allan 2; Penalty: Tommaso Allan.
Competition: Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2018.
Date: Saturday, 9 June 2018.
Venue: Oita Bank Dome, Oita prefecture (Retractable dome roof, natural grass, 40,000 capacity).
Japan Test Number: 343.
Kick-off: 14.45 (05:45 GMT/UTC).
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia).
Assistant Referees: Nigel Owens (Wales) and Nick Briant (New Zealand). TMO: Rowan Kitt (England).
Conditions: Forecast for Oita intervals of cloud and sunshine with high humidity. Temperature range 20 degrees to 26 degrees Celsius. Natural grass surface firm and fast. Oita Bank Dome roof closed.
Attendance: 25,824.
Halftime: Japan 17 – Italy 14.
Japan (WR rank 11 (75.66), at 04 June 2018)
| Pos. | Name (Test Player Number) | Club | DOB | Age | Hgt/Wgt | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keita INAGAKI (582) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 02/06/1990 | 28 | 186/116 | 20 |
| 2 | Shota HORIE (530) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 21/01/1986 | 32 | 180/104 | 56 |
| 3 | Jiwon KOO (656) | Honda heat | 20/07/1994 | 23 | 183/122 | 3 |
| 4 | Wimpie van der WALT (652) | NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes | 06/01/1989 | 29 | 188/106 | 4 |
| 5 | Samuela ANISE (620) | Canon Eagles | 30/08/1986 | 31 | 198/118 | 8 |
| 6 | Kazuki HIMENO (651) | Toyota Verblitz | 27/07/1994 | 23 | 187/108 | 4 |
| 7 | Michael LEITCH (518) (c) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 07/10/1988 | 29 | 189/105 | 54 |
| 8 | Amanaki Lelei MAFI (580) | NTT Communications | 11/01/1990 | 28 | 189/112 | 20 |
| 9 | Fumiaki TANAKA (510) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 03/01/1985 | 33 | 166/72 | 65 |
| 10 | Yu TAMURA (555) | Canon Eagles | 09/01/1989 | 29 | 181/91 | 49 |
| 11 | Kenki FUKUOKA (569) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 07/09/1992 | 25 | 175/83 | 26 |
| 12 | Timothy LAFAELE (629) | Coca-Cola Red Sparks | 19/08/1991 | 26 | 186/98 | 9 |
| 13 | William TUPOU (650) | Coca-Cola Red Sparks | 20/07/1990 | 27 | 187/101 | 2 |
| 14 | Lomano Lava LEMEKI (624) | Honda Heat | 20/01/1989 | 29 | 177/92 | 6 |
| 15 | Kotaro MATSUSHIMA (576) | Suntory Sungoliath | 26/02/1993 | 25 | 178/87 | 29 |
| 16 | Yusuke NIWAI (649) | Canon Eagles | 22/10/1991 | 26 | 174/102 | 4 |
| 17 | Shintaro ISHIHARA (634) | Suntory Sungoliath | 17/06/1990 | 27 | 181/105 | 9 |
| 18 | Takuma ASAHARA (570) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 07/09/1987 | 30 | 179/113 | 10 |
| 19 | Uwe HELU (621) | Yamaha Jubilo | 12/07/1990 | 27 | 193/115 | 8 |
| 20 | Yoshitaka TOKUNAGA (638) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 10/04/1992 | 26 | 185/100 | 9 |
| 21 | Yutaka NAGARE (639) | Suntory Sungoliath | 04/09/1992 | 25 | 166/71 | 10 |
| 22 | Rikiya MATSUDA (617) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 03/05/1994 | 25 | 181/92 | 11 |
| 23 | Ryoto NAKAMURA (573) | Suntory Sungoliath | 03/06/1991 | 27 | 178/92 | 12 |
Head Coach – Jamie Joseph. (NZL, 2016 to present. Fifteen tests as head coach for 8 wins, one draw and 6 losses.)
Subs
16 subbed 2, 38 min 2H.
17 subbed 1, 38 min 2H.
18 subbed 3, 19 min 2H.
19 subbed 4, 12 min 2H.
20 subbed 8, 35 min 2H.
21 subbed 9, 08 min 2H.
22 subbed 10, 38 min 2H.
23 subbed 13, 38 min 2H.
Italy (IRB rank 14 (71.10), at 04 June 2018)
| Pos. | Name | Club | DOB | Age | Hgt/Wgt | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrea Lovotti | Zebre Rugby Club | 28/07/1989 | 28 | 183/111 | 26 |
| 2 | Leonardo Ghiraldini (c) | Toulouse (FRA) | 26/12/1984 | 33 | 183/102 | 95 |
| 3 | Tiziano Pasquali | Benetton Rugby Treviso | 14/07/1994 | 23 | 179/117 | 8 |
| 4 | Alessandro Zanni | Benetton Rugby Treviso | 31/01/1984 | 34 | 193/107 | 105 |
| 5 | Dean Budd | Benetton Rugby Treviso | 31/07/1986 | 31 | 196/106 | 12 |
| 6 | Sebastian Negri | Benetton Rugby Treviso | 30/06/1994 | 23 | 195/108 | 8 |
| 7 | Giovanni Licata | Fiamme Oro Rugby | 18/02/1997 | 21 | 192/106 | 6 |
| 8 | Abraham Jurgens Steyn | Benetton Rugby Treviso | 02/05/1992 | 26 | 193/110 | 20 |
| 9 | Marcello Violi | Zebre Rugby Club | 11/10/1993 | 24 | 176/83 | 14 |
| 10 | Tommaso Allan | Benetton Rugby Treviso | 26/04/1993 | 25 | 184/92 | 39 |
| 11 | Mattia Bellini | Zebre Rugby Club | 08/02/1994 | 24 | 193/93 | 14 |
| 12 | Tommaso Castello | Zebre Rugby Club | 14/08/1991 | 26 | 184/100 | 11 |
| 13 | Michele Campagnaro | Exeter Chiefs (ENG) | 13/03/1993 | 25 | 184/94 | 33 |
| 14 | Tommaso Benvenuti | Benetton Rugby Treviso | 12/12/1990 | 27 | 187/100 | 51 |
| 15 | Matteo Minozzi | Zebre Rugby Club | 04/06/1996 | 22 | 175/77 | 9 |
| 16 | Luca Bigi | Benetton Rugby Treviso | 19/04/1991 | 27 | 180/97 | 10 |
| 17 | Federico Zani | Benetton Rugby Treviso | 09/04/1989 | 29 | 179/120 | 7 |
| 18 | Giosue Zilocchi | Rugby Calvisano | 15/01/1997 | 21 | 189/106 | 1 |
| 19 | Marco Fuser | Benetton Rugby Treviso | 09/03/1991 | 27 | 198/116 | 28 |
| 20 | George Biagi | Zebre Rugby Club | 04/10/1985 | 32 | 199/115 | 22 |
| 21 | Jake Polledri | Gloucester Rugby (ENG) | 08/11/1995 | 22 | 189/106 | 2 |
| 22 | Tito Tebaldi | Benetton Rugby Treviso | 23/09/1987 | 30 | 180/89 | 24 |
| 23 | Jayden Hayward | Benetton Rugby Treviso | 11/02/1987 | 31 | 185/92 | 9 |
Head Coach – Conor O’Shea (IRE, 1 June 2016 to present. Twenty-three tests as head coach for 4 wins and 19 losses).
Subs
16 subbed 2, 19 min 2H.
17 subbed 1, 08 min 2H.
18 subbed 3, 19 min 2H.
19 subbed 4, 29 min 2H.
20 subbed 5, 08 min 2H.
21 subbed 7, 09 min 2H.
22 subbed 9, 25 min 2H.
23 subbed 11, 00 min 2H.